Battle of Abukir

The Battle of Abukir (25 July 1799) was a major battle of the Egyptian Campaign of the French Revolutionary Wars that took place at Abu Qir in northern Egypt. An army of 18,000 Ottoman troops under Said Mustafa Pasha disembarked at Abukir in northern Egypt after being transported by Sydney Smith's British fleet, and the Ottomans threatened to retake Cairo. Napoleon Bonaparte's French army, which had just returned from a failed campaign in Syria, had a strength of only 7,700 troops, including 1,000 cavalry (commanded by the fearless Joachim Murat). The French assaulted the Ottoman positions and broke through the Ottoman front line before it could be fully assembled, but the second line was stronger, and the French were forced to withdraw. However, Murat led a cavalry charge that broke through the Ottoman second line, and Murat himself burst inside of Mustafa's tent and severed two of his fingers and captured him; Murat was shot in the jaw by Mustafa, and he was later healed. The Ottoman army fled in panic, with 4,000 men drowning as they tried to swim back to the British fleet, anchored two miles from land. The Turks suffered 8,000 losses, while the French suffered only 1,000 losses. Napoleon Bonaparte returned to France shortly after his victory at Abukir, enjoying the praise of the French people for his major victory, and the French would temporarily maintain control of Egypt.